PVRIS’ Lynn Gunn On Writing New Music: “The First Two Records Reflect A Lot Of Anxieties…”

Ahead of PVRIS' appearance at Slam Dunk next month, we had a chat to Lynn Gunn about new music, a new headspace, and a new era for PVRIS.

Where are you at right now, in terms of writing sessions?It’s a busy time, but also a fun one. In between when we finished up in the UK and headed back out in the US these past months, I was kind of back and forth between New York and L.A. just writing alone and then writing with other people… some of it wasn’t even PVRIS-related, but it was just really fun to team up with different producers, writers, creatives, and get the gears rolling a little bit. That’s been going on the past two months, and then the next two weeks I’ll be in New York for a bit, just seeing what happens. It’s a very relaxed period, exploring what feels good and what doesn’t. It’s fun.

Has it been fun going into it without preconceived goals or deadlines?Yeah, I feel like the best art always comes out of just genuine creation, not having any set intention or restrictions. If you do set an intention, it should just be for it to be real or something you’re excited about. But I think when there’s less pressure, less of a timeline, less of a box, you can really tap into whatever feels good. I think that translates over into people listening. You can tell when someone’s really excited about what they’re making, always hear that. Even if it’s really left of centre from what an artist’s done before, you can hear when someone’s enjoying what they’re doing. In this moment for PVRIS it’s all, ‘okay, what feels good right now, what’s fun, what do we want to pull from?’ But it’s been a fun journey to try and find that, it’s half the adventure.

Is there any particular feeling or vibe emerging with your new music?I think the biggest difference now is being in a different headspace. It’s a much more positive headspace, but it’s also a much more open and accepting, embracing headspace too. I’m really excited to tap into that and see what’s in there, because I feel like the first two records reflect a lot of anxieties - and how I was dealing with that was kind of by blocking everything else out. Now it’s opened up, there’s a whole new perception of things, I’ve got a whole new set of glasses on. I want to see what’s going on behind that.

How have you found the experience of collaborating more?I feel like there’s a giant misconception about collaborating and co-writing with people, because if it’s a true collaboration, they’re ultimately elevating whatever ideas you have, opening up doors you might not have been able to go through on your own. They might be able to suggest changing one thing or one chord progression, and I’ll open up a completely different ballgame for you as a writer. So it’s really fun to get other energies in a room with you, because one small change or suggestion can really open things up a lot.

It sounds like a really positive time right now...Yeah, the only thing is I don’t know what to write about! Everything feels really different now, and I don’t know how to write happy songs. I’ll figure it out, I think the right things will come. But I know if something happens or something comes in to mess with that a little bit, I’m in a headspace where I’d want to dissect it more, wouldn’t be afraid to dive into it. It’s a good place to be, nothing crazy is happening to right now to pull from, but there’s always something you can draw inspiration from somehow.

Do you know when you might be looking to launch the next era of PVRIS, as yet?I feel like with both this last record and whatever’s coming next… with ‘All We Know Of Heaven…’ we started on that pretty much straight after ‘White Noise’ came out, and I feel like the inner world of PVRIS is always one step ahead of everything! It’s a little too early to know, but we’re having fun with it.

The 2018 festival takes place across Leeds, Hatfield and Birmingham on three consecutive dates in May.